courageguided

[courageguided]

lance  was  out  on  a  mission.  he  didn't  like  being  away  from  arthur  his  king  for  too  long,  but  sometimes  it  couldn't  be  helped.

he'd  grabbed  his  horse  &  rode  out  like  the  wind,  leaving  only  dust  in  his  wake  to  get  back  as  soon  as  possible.  not  too  far  from  the  castle,  he  noticed  someone  in  the  middle  of  the  old  dirt  road.  clicking  his  tongue  at  his  white  steed,  he  came  to  a  halt  next  to  him,  his  horse  turning  &  neighing.  “hello,  good  sir. beautiful morning, is it not?”  lancelot  was,  above  all,  a  man  for  the  people.  of  course  he'd  laid  down  some  of  his  knightly  duties  to  protect  &  care  for  his  king,  but  when  presented  with  a  chance  to  do  good,  he  would.  "how  may  i  be  of  assistance?"

where: some woods | when: day time | whom: @courageguided Lance

Flynn rides along the road, head whipping about, trying to find landmarks he might recognize.

He's not lost.

He's not.

He's just gotten confused.

Maximus had decided to stay in Corona with Ray, which makes sense even though he would've been more useful to Flynn in remembering all the ways back.

Okay, he's lost.

He sighs and slows down. He hears hooves getting closer, and he looks up as a horse, and its rider turns a bend.

"Excuse me!" he calls out, waving his arms. "Mind helping a guy out?"

[courageguided]

it  was  wrong.

to  subject  their  loyal  servants  to  something  like  this.  he  couldn't  believe  that  happened  right  under  his  nose,  too.  maybe  he  should  spend  less  time  chasing  their  king  through  the  castle,  watching  his  every  step  ...rather  than  keeping  an  eye  on  the  mischief  makers  that  traversed  this  place,  too.  had  it  been  carelessness?  or  an  accident?  how  could  this  even  happen?  merlin  stepped  in  closer,  but  lance  didn't  budge  even  through  his  little  display.  he  knew  there  was  more  to  the  little  mage,  but  he  didn't  care.  arthur  &  his  kingdom  would  always  matter  more  than  himself,  more  than  anything.  "what  if  someone  else  stumbled  inside?  more  casualties?"  it  may  not  be  a  matter  of  life  &  death,  but  ..  still.  who  knew,  though.  if  it  went  badly  in  the  first  place,  maybe  it  went  badly  once  more. 

pushing  his  hand  away  when  merlin  grabbed  his  chin.  "don't  you  dare.  keep  your  magic  away  from  me."  lance  was  obviously  not  a  fan  of  it  all.  magic  was  dangerous,  it  was  lethal,  it  was  a  curse.  this  only  proved  him  even  more  right.  shaking  his  head  a  little,  palm  pressed  into  his  forehead  as  a  little  sigh  left  him.  this  whole  ordeal  gave  him  a  headache.  "just  ..fix  it.  i  won't  tell."  merlin  was  too  important  to  arthur  to  make  this  an  issue.  it  didn't  matter.  it  was  their  duty  to  protect  the  king  &  his  kingdom.  well,  it  was  his.  merlin..  he  didn't  know.  but  lance  would  do  whatever  it  took.  no  price  paid  too  high.

The wizard pouts as his attempt to distract the knight fails. Sir Lancelot is steadfast if anything. Some might say dogged, especially when it comes to the matters involving Arthur... He supposes he will have to employ stronger methods. Sighing softly, Merlin walks forward and gets close to Lance. Close enough to smell the bath. The demon within him stirs.

"Hey now, I'm not totally a dumbass. I've sealed their quarter. They're just enjoying the orgy there." He mutters, quiet but audible from the lack of distance between them. The seal is a simple one; it's like a fly trap. One can go in but nothing can get out. So the infection should be contained. "I didn't plan on this happening, I swear on the good king's shaft. It was a mishap! And no one's gonna find out. I'm not gonna let that happen. What do you take me for, boy?" At least for that moment, Merlin is dead serious, like an ancient mage with centuries of wisdom that he is. Despite all of his frivolous and careless antics, he takes the matter of kingdom not lightly. He will make sure to erase the memories of the servants and anyone involved... "Like I said, it'll wear off in a few hours naturally. The potion spreads through the exchange of bodily fluids or physical proximity. Some mutation happened during the spread, and the servants seem to produce some kind of pheromones... So don't even think about going there." He then reaches up, grabbing Lance by the chin. "I just gotta wait till they get it out of their systems, and I'll make them forget. The only question is, should I wipe your memories of ever seeing me here." There is something dark and devious behind his eyes, which has earned him a reputation as a dark magician or the devil... which isn't all that wrongfully attributed but the truth of the matter is debatable, he would say. "So you know, just be a good boy and sit still, and I'll handle it."

[courageguided]

location: king arthur's castle open to: all !! @talednewsletter

the  castle  halls  were  vast,  though  not  overly  crowded  today  despite  the  busy  morning  lance  had  had.  as  the  king's  knight,  he  was  arthur's  last  line  of  defense.  but  on  days  like  this  when  he  knew  the  man  safe  in  his  quarters  or  elsewhere,  he  helped  where  he  could.  their  king  deserved  time  off.  or  rather,  for  lance  to  keep  people  off  him  sometimes  &  deal  with  matters  he  could  handle.  many  people  wanted  to  see  or  meet  the  king  every  day,  but  only  few  actually  needed  to.  so  here  he  was,  greeting  those  who  came  to  see  the  most  important  man  in  the  kingdom  to  gauge  the  level  of  urgency  their  visit  actually  had.

a  little  bow,  one  hand  on  his  sword,  the  other  balled  into  a  fist  against  his  chest.  "i  assure  you,  the  king  will  see  you  when  it's  due.  for  now  i  must  ask  you  to  follow  this  fine  gentleman  right  here."  pointing  at  another  man  in  armor,  he  let  them  be  led  away  to  turn  to  the  next  in  line.  "good  morning,  may  i  ask  what  is  your  business  in  our  beloved  kingdom  and  what  matters  of  import  were  you  desiring  to  talk  to  our  king  about?"  not  that  it  was  usual  for  him  to  stick  his  nose  into  the  king's  business,  but  some  days  he  would.  besides,  he  knew  pretty  much  everything  going  on  within  their  kingdom  -  good  &  bad.

[courageguided]

[lil lance starter/plotting call? could use a few more threads.]

[courageguided]

lance  didn't  really  have  time  for  this.  arthur  was  safe  right  now,  but  he  wouldn't  be  forever  -  not  without  him  by  his  side.  or  maybe  he  would  be  &  lance  saw  himself  as  more  than  he  was,  but  it  didn't  matter  right  now.  he  did  what  he  thought  best  &  even  if  ninety-nine  days  everything  was  fine  &  calm,  he'd  make  sure  the  hundredth  would  be,  too.  so  whatever  this  was,  lance  didn't  have  time  for  it,  but  he  also  knew  -  in  his  heart,  that  something  was  wrong  &  he  couldn't  just  ...turn  away.  he  didn't  have  that  in  him.  he  just  didn't.  yeah,  he  wasn't  new  to  that  dilemma  at  all.  "why  i'm  here  doesn't  matter.  why  you  are  ...  does.  i'd  be  back  with  our  king  by  now  if  not  for  your  intrusion  and  stalling."  hurry  it  up,  wizard.  no  time  to  lose.

even  though  merlin  seemed  to  give  in,  lance  didn't  let  go  yet.  knowing  the  other  man,  he'd  try  to  hide  the  truth  once  more  &  then  lance  would  have  to  start  his  chase  all  over  again.  so,  no.  the  grip  was  tight,  but  not  hurting.  just  tight  enough  to  keep  him  right  there.  the  fact  half  of  what  the  other  said  didn't  make  sense  ...really  wasn't  knew  anymore,  but  to  hear  him  speak  of  the  undead  &  sex-crazed  servants?  was  that  ...it?  how  could  he  have...  just  how.  "good  lord.  what  if  it  spreads  away  from  the  servants?  the  castle's  crowded,  people  will  be  wandering."  what  if  it  hit  their  king?  now,  lance  would  -  of  course,  help  him,  but  that  wasn't  the  point.  "you  can't  do  these  things  at  the  castle.  word  gets  out,  it'll  ruin  our  king's  reputation.  not  yours,  not  mine.  arthur's."  a  king  who  didn't  have  his  castle  under  control...  gods.  “is  there  no  way  to  cure  them?  how  …  is  it  spread?”  could  he  ..  go  there?  see  about  locking  the  servants  up  so  they  couldn't  harm  anybody  else.  

Merlin rolls his eyes, weighing his options and well, stalling. He has no intention of making an enemy out of Sir Lancelot. That would be most inconvenient, considering that they are both close to King Arthur (in many different ways) and cannot unsee each other. And a broken window seems like negligible damage... "What are you doing here, anyway? Aren't you supposed to be with His Majesty?" He is genuinely curious, though from the fact that the knight just washed up and the discarded shirts, he assumes it has to do with some mishaps... But asking questions buy time.

He yelps dramatically when Lancelot grabs his wrist. "Unhand me, you beast," he says as if he was a middle-aged peasant woman, clearly joking. And he is being nice because he is not getting physical to get out of the grip. "Okay, okay, so there might be a teensy tiny outbreak in the servant's quarter. You know what a zombie is?" Merlin asks before just going off to the explanation, "it's basically a walking dead, an animated corpses... well, technically its name comes from something else but movies kind of made it something else, anyway," he crosses his fingers behind the back, preparing for a spell. "But uh, they all go 'ugghh' and 'agghhh' and attack people. And they spread, like if you get bitten by them you get infected... So it's something like that. Except they are horny instead of eating brains." Merlin hums to himself before summarizing. "There's a group of super horny servants hopped up on a love potion and if you come into contact with them, you get infected with the potion too? The good news is that it's gonna wear off in a few hours."

[courageguided]

Frank Grillo as Leo Barnes | Purge: Anarchy for @sparklingbinjuice

[courageguided]

most  of  the  time,  lance  wouldn't  care  what  the  likes  of  merlin  were  up  to,  but  when  he  was  so  obviously  in  trouble  he  hid  in  the  first  best  chambers  -  namely,  lancelot's,  then  he  knew  that  something  big  must  be  cooking  somewhere  &  it  would  most  likely  be  his  mess  to  clean  up  before  arthur  found  out  about  it.  maybe  it  was  already  too  late,  maybe  with  enough  information,  lance  could  still  do  something  to  fix  it.  so,  if  he  had  to  use  force  to  keep  that  door  closed  &  the  hasty  little  mage  inside,  he  would.  he  also  wasn't  afraid  of  getting  his  hands  dirty  or  using  his  body  to  get  what  he  wanted.  not  like  this.  just  ...  to  block.  he  wasn't  the  tallest,  but  lifelong  training  made  him  strong.  "uhuh.  just  spit  it  out,  merlin.  there's  no  use  in  stalling  -  neither  of  us  are  going  anywhere  until  you  tell  me  what  happened  and  why  you've  tried  to  hide  in  my  chambers."

he  understood  why,  because  lance  usually  wasn't  here.  like,  ever.  he  spent  his  nights.....  well,  either  at  arthur's  or  in  front.  or  a  wild  mix  of  both.  so  it  wasn't  too  far-fetched  that  his  chambers  had  been  expected  to  be  empty.  that  didn't  change  their  current  predicament  now,  though.  his  ...  rambles  didn't  really  help  clear  up  the  situation,  it  only  increased  the  suspicion  that  hell  broke  loose  somewhere  &  merlin  was  on  the  run.  when  he  tried  to  flee,  lancelot  reached  out  to  grab  his  wrist.  "what.  did.  you.  do?"

Merlin did not expect Sir Lancelot to be at his chamber (and yes, Merlin can see the future, but he actively suppresses that gift most of the time). The faithful knight is by Arthur's side at all time, so something must have happened for the knight to be here... But before he could figure out what that is, the door is slammed shut behind him and he is locked by half naked Lance. The smell of post-shower sweats and perfumed oil crowding him. "Well, you see, my good sir, the truth is a fickle thing and it changes its shape depending on the beholder, so would it really be a singular truth if I told you? Would you believe me if I did?" Merlin slides down against the door to the floor before slipping away deeper into the room. Window. He can jump out of the window.

Of course, Merlin could just cast a spell too. The question is which one. He could just make Lancelot forget seeing him; but no, messing with the memory can be tricky and it's way too complicated. He could teleport out of this room... But Sir Lancelot is a trained knight and knows he is a magician. The knight can subdue him before he could cast the spell. Damn, he really cornered himself and the only viable option seems like a self-defenestration. "I didn't mean no harm, you see... Somebody had a trouble in the bedroom and my bleeding heart couldn't just ignore their plea. There just might have been a slight mishap with my solution but, you know, all things considered they've still got what they wanted? All's well that ends well? Wait, you guys don't have Shakespeare, damn." While rambling, Merlin slowly backs away toward the window, ready to jump out if the knight makes any move.

[courageguided]

[courageguided]

The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

[courageguided]

Frank Grillo | Fightworld Thailand: Fortunate Son

[courageguided]

one  may  wonder  how  lancelot  had  managed  to  be  his  kingdom's  loyal  shadow  &  still  planned  a  trip  like  this,  but  ...  lance  didn't  share  his  secrets  for  this  one  would  forever  remain  an  unspoken  promise  between  him  &  thomas  -  the  man  arthur  probably  saw  with  him.  not  that  lance  minded.  thomas  had  done  a  great  job  &  lance  did,  too.  not  to  toot  his  own  horn  &  all  that.  with  the  right  motivation,  everything  was  possible  if  you  asked  him.  oh,  lance  was  plenty  motivated  to  get  arthur  away  from  everybody.  he  loved  what  he  did,  being  by  his  king's  side  &  ensuring  nobody  with  ill  intent  got  close.  he  did.  but  to  have  arthur  all  to  himself,  even  if  only  for  a  day  or  two  —  well,  that  was  true  happiness  in  a  nutshell.  stolen  moments,  the  old  knight  held  dear  above  anything  else.  not  that  he  shared  the  importance  of  those  trips  with  his  liege.  "calm,  you'll  see."  my  love.  "my  king."

his  main  motivation  was  the  king's  health  &  sanity  —  his  own  ulterior  moves  came  second.  were  they  ulterior  when  all  he  wished  for  was  for  arthur  to  be  healthy  &  happy?  surely...  not.  he  refused  to  believe  that,  but  even  if  so,  he  would  take  the  blame  &  carry  it  with  him  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  he'd  piled  up  enough  sins  to  last  him  a  lifetime  anyway,  so  what  was  one  more  in  exchange  of  knowing  arthur  had  had  a  good  time?  shaking  his  head  a  little  when  he  noticed  he'd  just...  stared,  lost  in  thought  while  arthur  got  into  the  sleigh.  "you'll  find  out  soon  enough,  my  king."  little  smile,  little  bow  before  he  walked  around  the  sleigh  to  make  sure  everything  was  in  order.  gentle  palm  run  over  the  reindeer's  snout  &  head,  petting  it  gently.  felt  almost  like  his  horse.

"i've  had  some  time."  that  smile  turned  into  a  little  grin  at  that,  followed  by  a  long  shrug  of  his  shoulders.  sacrifice  a  little  sleep,  a  little  free  time.  nothing  too  bad.  again,  he  profited  from  this,  too.  he  was  more  than  willing  to  make  sacrifices  in  the  process.  arthur  should  know  by  now  that  there  was  nothing  in  this  world  (or  the  next)  he  wouldn't  do  for  him.  nothing.  wasn't  that  the  point  of  knights?  why  else  did  they  exist  if  not  to  protect  &  serve  their  king?

"just  ...trust  me.  relax,  enjoy  the  view.  we're  taking  the  scientific  route."  he  heard  it  was  ...stunning  &  truth  be  told,  he  believed  it  already.  with  a  little  nod  when  he  checked  everything,  he  climbed  into  the  sleigh  to  sit  next  to  arthur,  not  leaving  any  space  whatsoever  between  their  legs.  it  was  just  them,  so.  grabbing  the  reins,  he  pulled,  rumbling  a  little  let's  go  to  make  the  mighty  creature  move.  it  worked.

"merlin  knows.  he's  holding  up  the  fort,  so  don't  worry,  okay?"  head  tilted  to  the  side  so  that  his  eyes  could  bore  into  his  king's  very  soul  so  that  he  could  see  how  very  honest  lance  was.  always.

as  they  rode  the  sleigh  across  frozen  lands,  they  truly  did  come  upon  a-many  sights  neither  of  them  experienced  before.  he  assumed  so  anyway.  the  land  was  vast  &  covered  in  snow  in  every  direction,  but  there  was  wildlife  out  here.  little  birds  with  short  arms  &  black,  white  pattern  on  their  entire  bodies  waddled  around  among  other  things.  the  journey  wasn't  actually  that  long.  admittedly,  they  held  a  few  times  for  sightseeing  purposes,  but  …they'd  still  been  quite  quick.  glancing  at  the  slip  of  paper  with  the  map  on  it...  this  seemed  to  be  the  place.  a  frozen  lake,  some  sort  of  a  grove  -  no  doubt  beautiful  in  summer  &  flat  land  to  built  the  tent.  exactly  what  he  wanted.

"this  is  it.  you  can  remain  seated,  my  king.  i've  got  a  few  things  to  do."  make  a  fire,  for  example  or  building  the  tent.  hand  against  the  man's  cheek,  trying  to  caught  his  temp.  seemed  okay.  then  he  pulled  the  big  bag  from  the  sleigh  to  start.

a frown, a raised eyebrow. all before he was unceremoniously escorted away from the crowd. arthur had been mingling with a couple of strangers, participating in conversation with them. light, harmless conversation... that didn't seem to go anywhere, as was usually the case at events like these. that didn't mean they weren't important, on the contrary, they were sometimes even more important than the serious ones. say the wrong thing to the wrong person — well, there could be dire consequences depending on who it was: a mark on your person figuratively, exile, or even execution. the king was technically one such person but usually he was of a nature that would let such things pass unless it was an attack on his character, kingdom or its citizens.

clad in a fur coat, thicker than his usuals, arthur followed, or rather, let himself be led towards whatever pressing matter lancelot had decided to grace him with; giving his conversation partners a hurried nod, "apologies all, i must take my leave."

once the blonde had been directed outside, trudging through snow had revealed the matter at hand. definitely not actually urgent. but glad for the distraction and ruse nonetheless. "lance. what is all this then?" though, he'd have an idea: a little impromptu trip organised by his knight. one of many, but this far out, in this weather? bold. still, arthur eyed the little exchange his knight and a stranger had before sitting on the sleigh as requested. that was new, the reindeer too — though not unlike a carriage and horses.

"where're you taking me, sir lancelot?" he's surprised the other had time to even scout for a location or even plan a little escapade. but clearly lance was prepared. bags filled to the brim with unknown contents, food, drinks, a tent, blankets, pillows and furs if arthur had to hazard a guest. "and when did you carve out the necessary time to concoct and follow through with this little plan then?"

sometimes that unwavering loyalty scared him. of what arthur could ask of his knight and how'd he do anything that was requested of him. of the power he held over his elder, and the worse of it all, willingly given. sometimes the care and attention lancelot gave him pleased him. of how thoughtful the other could be, little details that would go unnoticed were he lesser. arthur may not always look the part but he kept his eye open. he had to, as a king, and as a man that grew up unaware of his true heritage, having to train and fight for what he wanted. so the once and future king definitely appreciated all that his friend, advisor, knight and occasional frequent lover did. if not always said, then revealed and affirmed by his actions.

[courageguided]

Angus is the devil, man.

[courageguided]

FRANK GRILLO Kingdom (2014-2017) S02E02

[courageguided]

Frank Grillo as Chainsaw Angus DONNYBROOK (2018)

[courageguided]

[courageguided]

when  arthur  was  busy  tending  to  diplomatic  matters  while  at  the  castle,  lance  sometimes  found  himself  with  more  free  time  than  he  wanted  -  especially  when  that  meant  he  had  no  proper  reason  to  stay  by  his  king's  side.  thankfully  that  didn't  happen  too  often.  today  he  wasn't  by  his  side  for  a  different  reason  ⸺  something  a  little  more  sudden  had  come  up.  well,  it  came  onto  him.  he'd  trailed  after  arthur  as  he  always  did,  ensuring  nobody  unauthorized  got  close  when  someone  came  running  at  them  with  a  pot  of  unimaginably  gruesome  contents,  which  had  been  spattered  across  ...him.  so  he'd  taken  his  leave  to  clean  up  proper  before  he  faced  his  king  again.

freshly  showered,  hair  still  damp  &  slicked  back  wildly,  he  was  just  getting  dressed  when  his  door  opened  without  so  much  as  a  knock  beforehand.  what  had  he  done  for  his  entire  damn  day  to  feel  cursed?  undershirt  halfway  above  his  head,  he  shot  the  intruder  ...a  look.  it  wasn't  quite  a  glare,  but  it  definitely  spoke  of  annoyance  at  a  lack  of  privacy.  discarding  his  shirt  just  in  time  for  that  ....ramble  to  end,  lance  was  already  a  step  ahead  &  quick  enough  to  reach  past  merlin.  door  slammed  shut  under  his  palm.  "hold  on,  merlin.  truth,  now."  his  palm  remained  where  it  was,  his  arm  on  par  with  merlin's  face  &  his  body  almost  a  little  too  close  to  the  other's  -  since  he'd  practically  thrown  himself  at  the  door,  but  he  didn't  mind.  so,  he  may  not  share  merlin  &  the  king's  wit,  but  he  wasn't  completely  oblivious.  he  could  read  people  quite  well,  actually  -  part  of  his  job  description.

LOCATION: Royal Palace, Avalon MUSE: Merlin STATUS: Closed | @courageguided

Merlin runs through the royal palace. He is infamously fast only when he is running away from something he wants to avoid, which is usually a trouble he started. He might have done a favor for one of the servants at the palace. A simple love potion, supposed to help with virility... except Merlin messed up the ratio and, well, let's just say some of the servants are infected with horny fever. It is spreading through the exchange of bodily fluids... like some R-rated zombie movie. Thankfully, it will wear off in a few hours so the servants will just have crazy orgy and pass out.

But Merlin did not want to deal with the consequences. So he found a shelter in... "Sir Lancelot." He turns around from the door to find one of the knights. He must have run into the knight's chamber... Clearing his throat, Merlin acts as though he has done nothing wrong. "Excuse me, I must have... mistaken this for my room, but, uh, perhaps stay away from the servants' quarter for the next few hours and if Ar- I mean, if our good King asks, I was never here, yeah?" He then fumbles for the doorknob from behind his back so he can slip out before Sir Lancelot notices anything.

[courageguided]

Frank Grillo | Fightworld Thailand: Fortunate Son